International Nurses Day - Sara's story

There’s a famous Maya Angelou quote that reads “as a nurse we have the opportunity to heal the mind, soul, heart and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel”. 

As a mental health nurse, I not only look at the physical elements of patient care, but I look at patients holistically. This is the primary reason as to why I chose to do nursing, as I have always had a genuine passion to help those who NEED care. Even though working as a mental health professional can get very demanding, both mentally and physically I would not change it for the world.

Throughout my career I have had opportunities to travel the world and look at psychiatry from the perspective of children in Thailand and work with adolescents in the UK. Whilst working in an orphanage I saw first-hand how not treating mental health illnesses can impact lives. This made me appreciate mental health services in the United Kingdom and the work of those in the NHS. 

As well as this whilst completing my nursing dissertation I found that the relation between ethnic minorities and mental health services is poor and is a challenge the NHS currently faces due to stigma, lack of education and cultural attitudes. 

As a mental health service provider from a BAME background I hope to use my knowledge to bring a positive change to how ethnic minorities perceive mental health services. And like Gandhi said “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him… A wonderful thing and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”

Sara, Staff Nurse 

(An ethnic minority trying to make a difference to UK mental health services and the world).